Visualizing planning model data

The model is ready for analysis. As with the analytics model, we once again need to create a temporary story to view the data of this model. Execute the following set of steps for this purpose:

1. From the main menu, go to Create | Story.
2. On the first wizard page that asks how you want to start the story, select the Add a Canvas page option. The story page will appear with a default name for the new story.
3. Click on the arrow in the Data View section on the toolbar. You will be prompted to add data.
4. On this screen, select Use existing data.
5. In the Select Your Data dialog, select StoresData. This is the planning model data you uploaded in the previous section. Click on OK to dismiss the dialog:

The data view panels that you worked with in the previous chapter will be presented again. Click on Quantity sold (A) in the Measures pane to see its actual figures. By default, the Version is set to Actual (B). Click on the Show Dimensions icon (C), and select Show All (D) from the list to view the Date (E) and Store (F) dimensions as well. Expand the Date node, and select the month of January (G). In the Stores pane, select Farlos (H). The actual sold quantity 600 for Farlos in January will appear in the lower pane. You can verify this figure from the source Excel file (I):

Let's see how the planning data can be visualized from a different perspective. In these steps, we will add a bar chart to a story page that will allow us to compare actual, budget, and forecast figures, all at the same time.

1. On the toolbar, click on the Chart icon to add a blank chart to Page 1 of the story.
2. Click on the Designer link to see the designer panel:

Click on the Builder tab in the designer panel to set the properties for the chart. Because you have already selected the model in step 16, the StoresData model will automatically appear under Data Source (A). Execute the following steps to populate the chart.

1. In the Measures section, click on the Add Measure link, and select Quantity Sold from the list.
2. In the Dimensions section, click on the Add Dimension link, and select the Date dimension.
3. In the Color section, click on the Add Dimension link, and select Version. A Version section will be added with the Actual version. Click on the Add Version link (B), and select Budget to add the Budget version under Actual. Repeat the process to add the Forecast version too. You can optionally set different patterns (C) and colors (D) to distinguish the three versions in the chart:
   

The chart will be transformed according to your selections and will display three bars that represent the three versions. Click on the all link (A) under the chart, and from the toolbar that appears, select the Drill Down on Date (B) icon. Click on this option three more times until you see months, which is the lowest granularity; you cannot drill down beyond this level.

1. Click on the More Actions icon on the chart's vertical toolbar.
2. Select Add Variance from the ensuing menu:

The Create Variance panel appears to your right. By adding variance to your chart, you can compare two values. For example, in the current scenario, you will create a variance that shows the difference between actual and budget values for the sold quantity.

1. In the Compare (A) section, select Quantity sold as measure.
2. Select Actual as the version in the Compare (A) section.

1. In the To (B) section, select the same Quantity sold column as the measure.
2. Select Budget as the version in the To (B) section.
3. Click on OK to save your variance settings.

The output of your setting will appear something like the following screenshot. The first variance data point shows a negative value of -1,200 (A). This figure is calculated by subtracting the actual value (8,000) and the budget value (9,200) in the month of January. The remaining points are calculated in the same manner. For your convenience, the values are made visible in the figure. If you want to also see the result in percentages, then turn on the Percentage option under the Display options section in the Create Variance panel: